When I arrived at Saint Mary’s, I found what I had always wanted: an environment where I could dedicate all of my energy to what I had loved my whole life—poetry. The M.F.A. program at Saint Mary’s is in many ways where I grew up, learned to speak up, and had the time and support to hone my craft and to study its practitioners. I talk about Saint Mary’s like many people talk about college—as a place and a community in which I spent some of the most fulfilling years of my life thus far. --Lily Brown, MFA Poetry 2007